4 (36) December 2013

When all rolling stock on the railway network was public, it was the transporter who was responsible for rolling stock maintenance.
When railcars became private, the issue of railcar maintenance was discussed beyond the framework of the RZD holding company. Today, heated discussions about current uncoupling repair of rolling stock take place, and their participants sometimes have dramatically different viewpoints on the problem.

The intermodal transportation market is entering a period of escalating competition. To a significant degree, it is caused by signs of a crisis in the global and Russian economy and by a strengthening position
of foreign transporters.

The Russian transport services market needs a large scale network of transport and logistics centres. Difficulties can arise, however, when the concept of the terminal and logistics business, developed by RZD, is put into practice. These difficulties will be caused by a reduction in the company’s investment programme and a slowdown in the rate of Russian economic growth.

The Russian locomotive market is growing from year to year. But still there is only one client here - Russian Railways JSC. While other players are just going to become carriers, RZD has ambitious plans to buy 2169 vehicles by 2015.
Are manufacturers ready to satisfy the customer with new products
in the foreseeable future?

Investments in infrastructure contribute to improving services for passengers. Attracting private investment and innovations assists the efficient development of railway stations. Sergey Abramov, Head of the Directorate
for Railway Stations of RZD, talks about projects, which private companies
have invested in.

The Northern Sea Route is now considered not only as an internal route for
the Arctic regions of Russia, but also as an international transport corridor, where the turnover of vessels carrying foreign flags has more than doubled in 2013.

The period from today until 2020 will be critical for the European rail industry. Increased competition and liberalisation of the market may open new opportunities for passengers, but also can make the life of rail operators harder as they will have to compete for customers. The new research “The Rail Journey to 2020” carried out by the Global Distribution System “Amadeus” focuses on the specific factors that will shape the rail market in the near future. We met the director of the company, Tom Drexler, to enquire about his predictions.